


Making Sure

by amandasarmada



Series: What Else? [18]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: Engagement, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 14:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4395035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amandasarmada/pseuds/amandasarmada
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More pure fluff, part two of "Just Checking."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Sure

**Author's Note:**

> sap sap sap sap #notembarrassed

**June 9, 2007**

Danny gazed up at her, delight and shock registering on his face. “Yes?!”

“Yes.” She beamed at him.

He stood up, his arms around her and his lips on hers in the span of a second. She collapsed into his embrace, one hand on her face, the other around her waist as he devoured her with eager kisses. They broke apart moments later, panting, and before she could think clearly he'd slipped back onto his knees, gazing up at her in awe.

“What are you doing?” she laughed.

“Give me a minute,” he whispered, and he leaned into her, hugging her waist as he pressed his forehead against her stomach. She heard him take a deep, shaking breath, and pulled away gently.

“Sorry,” he muttered, wiping his eye, beaming at her. She was silent as she kneeled down in front of him, running her hands through his curls. They were lost in each other for a few moments, as he peppered her face with kisses across her cheeks and hair and neck, whispering her name over and over again. She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. It was a longer kiss this time, and she fell forward against him, laughing through the kisses. His voice joined hers as he was forced onto his back, wrapping his arms around her as they rolled. After a few minutes his kiss faded from pure bliss to something deeper, and she couldn't stop herself from letting out a little sigh of disappointment when he finally broke away. He smiled slightly, bringing his hand to her cheek. She looked into his bright eyes, cupping his face.

“C'mere,” he murmured, and she felt him pull her up, guiding her towards a low bench along the wall of the exhibit. He crouched in front of her, his hands on both sides of her face as they locked eyes.

“Are you sure, C.J.?”

She looked into his face, seeing the barely-constrained joy etched in every line, his eyes serious but hopeful, and she didn't have to think about her answer. “Of course I am.” She took his hands, leaning forward, their eyes still locked on the other's. His were glistening, mirroring hers, and she wiped the start of another tear away, trying to marshal her thoughts. He kissed her softly, which didn't help, and she felt her breath steal away from her as he deepened the kiss, pushing her gently back against the wall, his lips dancing with hers as he moved up to join her on the bench. “I love you,” he said softly, meeting her eyes before resuming the kiss. He paused, staring at her, his expression becoming more uncertain. “Are you _sure_?” he repeated wistfully, his voice cracking, as he squeezed her tighter, shifting his position on the bench. She laughed lightly as she pulled away slightly, trying to explain as they grasped hands.

“Danny...it feels like...Our whole relationship feels like we've just been killing time,” she began. Danny pressed his forehead against hers, smiling as she continued. “We've kept putting off the real thing. First with our jobs, and the endless waiting and hoping and not being able to kiss or spend time together or look at each other the wrong way without the risk of a national scandal.” She sighed. “Then even when we did _finally_ get it together, I was so messed up, I did it all wrong.”

“Nah...no you didn't. Don't be so hard on yourself,” he said hoarsely, his eyes still brimming. She smiled gratefully, continuing. “And even then, when we finally got to be together, I still wanted to wait until after we left the White House to have any kind of serious talk...and even now, staying in the condo instead of actually getting our life together going...” Danny kissed her softly, his lips barely brushing against hers. C.J. took a deep breath. “There were good reasons for some of those things, but I'm tired of doing it halfway. I'm ready for this.”

“You're ready?” Danny repeated, grinning, as he wiped the trace of a tear from her eye.

“I'm beyond ready, nimrod.” She kissed him quickly, beaming at him. “You were wonderfully patient, though,” she added softly. He pulled her in for another kiss, his beard feeling wonderful on her sensitive skin. She sighed slightly as he started to rub her back, his lips warm and wet and smiling.

“You gonna put that ring on me sometime today?” she murmured a second later, as they felt one another's breath on their cheeks.

He grinned broadly, taking her hand, the box reappearing from where he'd stashed it in his pocket. “Do you like it? You can pick out a different one if you want,” he said, his voice raspy and nervous. C.J. had barely glanced at it, and she looked down, truly seeing it for the first time.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” she swore.

The ring was a stunner - clearly Danny had spared no expense, and yet it was elegant and classy and suited her perfectly. Staring at it, she secretly doubted there could be a ring she liked better, even if she were to design it herself. There was a large princess diamond in the center, framed by a halo of smaller diamonds and a line of tiny accent stones bordering partway down the silver cathedral-styled band. “Oh my _god_ ,” she gaped. “You like it?” he repeated, smiling shyly. She shook her head at him in disbelief, tugging gently on his tie and pulling him in for a quick kiss. “It's gorgeous,” she assured him. He smiled, flushing with pride. “Yeah?” he murmured.

“Put it on, fishboy,” she laughed, giving him that broad grin that always made his head go fuzzy.

He took the deepest breath of his life, sliding the ring up her finger as his smile widened, his face actually a little sore. He hadn't even removed his hand from hers when he felt her lips on his, pushing him backwards as her arms wrapped around his neck.

* * *  
Cregg-Concannon Bedroom

It had been a warm night, but the bedroom was cool as she lay peacefully in Danny's arms, a thin sheet draped loosely over them as he stroked her side. He leaned forward, kissing her shoulder, and she sighed, her eyes closed peacefully, a wide smile highlighting her features.

“Who do you wanna tell first?” Danny asked, dipping his head to bury his face in the hair of his fiancee. C.J. turned gently out of the spooning position so they could face each other, and she smiled up at him.

“I don't know,” she said softly. “What do you think?” She laughed suddenly to herself. “We could issue a press release. That'd take care of it.”

“Don't give me ideas,” he grinned, kissing her nose. She just smiled, feeling sleepy from the long day in the sun.

After a moment, he grew pensive, his hand rubbing gently along her back. “I guess before we tell anyone, we should work out some questions we're going to be asked.”

“Finally some familiar territory, hell, my area of expertise - that's what I do best,” she chuckled. “What have we got?” C.J. asked, sitting up a little and resting her head on his chest. Danny ran his hand over her hair, looking thoughtful.

“Do you know when you want to have the wedding? Even a ballpark figure? Even if the answer is 'not sure yet', we should both be on the same page about it.”

“I don't want to be engaged for a long time,” she said thoughtfully. “Besides, it kind of defeats the purpose of me showing you I'm ready,” she pointed out, sitting up and stretching. Danny gazed at her, half caught-up in the sight of her elongated body, half excited by what she was saying. She turned to look down at him. “I kind of like the idea of an outdoor wedding. I mean, maybe it'd be terrible, I'm not exactly a big nature woman, but it sounds pretty. Do you have any idea where you'd want to have it?”

“Outdoors sounds nice.” He pulled her back down. “God, C.J., I'm so excited,” he murmured.

C.J. grinned, letting him wrap his arms around her as she spread across his naked chest, getting lost in his kisses. “If we want to do it outside, and we don't want to wait like, a year, what about this fall?”

Danny kissed her some more before answering, his hands tangling up in her hair. “C.J., we could get married at the Plaza next June or city hall tomorrow. I just want to marry you.”

“Well, neither of those suggestions appeal to me, so I guess we should table any big decisions until we're a little more awake.” She smiled at him. “Does this fall sound good to you though?” she asked tentatively, and his heart melted at how vulnerable she looked.

“It sounds amazing,” he answered honestly.

“I just figured, it makes sense.” Her voice trailed off, as she fell into her habit of rigorous overthinking. “Do you want to get married in California? We can, but it makes more sense if we did it in the Midwest or back East, almost all of our friends and family are there-” She was cut off as Danny almost swallowed her mouth. She hummed a little as his arms wrapped around her, his lips warm and firm on hers.

“You know what we're doing right now?” Danny grinned at her breathlessly.

“I think I'm being seduced by you,” C.J. said coyly.

“We're _planning our wedding_ ,” Danny beamed at her.

“No, we're taking a break from that just now,” C.J. said softly, bringing her lips back down to his.

* * *

“Hey, C.J.?” The soft voice broke through the dim room, making her stir.

C.J. rolled over, half-asleep as she lay sprawled across Danny's chest. “Yeah?” she asked drowsily.

He hesitated a moment. “They're going to ask about kids.”

C.J. snickered, sitting up in bed, wrapping a sheet around herself. “Subtle, fishboy.”

He seemed relieved that she wasn't freaking out. “Well, they are.” He played with her hair.

C.J. looked at him. “Danny, I do want to talk about it. I just don't want to advertise it. For one thing, it's private. For another, I'm past 40, and we might not be able to. That window in particular really might be closed.”

Danny sat up too, putting one hand on her cheek, the other cupping her chin as he looked into her eyes. “Hey. Hey – you know I love you, right? Not having kids isn't going to change that.”

C.J. looked at him sadly. “You sure?” she asked quietly.

Danny sighed. “C.J,” he said firmly. “If you decide you don't want a baby, I will hold your hand and happily spend the rest of my life with you. And if you decide you _do_ want a baby, and we find out we can't -” he took a deep breath. “I will hold your hand a little tighter, and happily spend the rest of my life with you. But you aren't a consolation prize.” He kissed her forehead, giving her a gentle smile.

“I don't know if I'd even be a good mom,” C.J. confessed.

“I do,” Danny said confidently. “But don't worry about it right now, okay? Forget I brought it up. Tonight is supposed to be happy.”

“I'm very happy,” C.J. admitted, grinning again.

“Well then, that's settled for now.” He smiled. “I guess if anyone asks, we'll just-”

“Danny, no one is going to ask,” C.J. smirked, scoffing a little. “You underestimate the fear I drive into the hearts of our friends and co-workers.”

“I was thinking of the Bartlets,” Danny interjected, and C.J. halted. “Oh, hell,” she replied. “Well, I better get working on my intimidation face,” she said, resigned. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her again as she settled into him.


End file.
